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I. In the spiritual, practical, and experiential union — Rom. 8:16a.
II. By the mingled spirit — v. 11b.
III. Through the abundance of grace and the abundance of the gift of righteousness — 5:17b:
А. In being sanctified in the Spirit — 6:19, 22; 15:16.
B. In being renewed by the mingled spirit in our mind — 12:2b; Eph. 4:23.
C. In being transformed — Rom. 12:2b:
1. To the image of Christ from glory to glory — 2 Cor. 3:18a.
2. By the Lord Spirit — v. 18b.
D. In being conformed — Rom. 8:26-29:
1. To the image of God’s firstborn Son — v. 29b.
2. Through the Spirit’s interceding — vv. 26-27.
3. That all things may work together for the conformation of those who love God — v. 28.
E. In being glorified — v. 30:
1. To be redeemed in our body — v. 23c.
2. To participate in our divine sonship ultimately — v. 23b.
3. Through the sealing of the indwelling Spirit — Eph. 4:30.
F. In more than conquering the environmental hardships and sufferings — Rom. 8:31-39:
1. By having God being for us, who did not spare His own Son, who gives us freely all things with Him, and who has chosen us and justified us — vv. 31-33.
2. By having Christ who died for us, who was raised, and who is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us — v. 34.
3. By being captivated by the love of Christ and by the love of God in Christ from which we are inseparable — vv. 35-39.
4. By being faithful to Christ and God unto death — v. 38.
G. In gaining the righteousness of God, which is the subjective Christ — 9:18-33; Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30:
1. Out of faith to faith — Rom. 1:17a.
2. According to His mercy in order to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy — 9:18-23.
H. In enjoying the riches of God — 10:12-15:
1. By calling on the name of the Lord — v. 13.
2. By believing in the Lord’s word — v. 14.
3. By announcing the glad tidings — v. 15.
I. In living a grafted life — 11:17-24; Gal. 2:20a:
(Not living an exchanged life, in which the good life replaces the bad one, and the bad one becomes functionless.)
We reign in life in the spiritual, practical, and experiential union. Romans 8:16a says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit.” The Spirit of God today, the all-inclusive Spirit of the Triune God, dwells in our regenerated human spirit and works in our spirit. These two spirits are one; they live together, work together, and exist together as one mingled spirit.
We reign in life by the mingled spirit. Romans 8:11b says, “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”
We reign in life in the spiritual, practical, and experiential union by the mingled spirit through the abundance of grace and the abundance of the gift of righteousness, with which God has gifted us (5:17b). Grace is for us to experience God’s organic salvation, whereas the gift of righteousness is for God’s judicial redemption.
The outline that begins in this chapter presents cases from Romans 6 through 16 to show that if we reign in life, we are in all the matters presented in chapters 6 through 16.
We reign in life in being sanctified in the Spirit (6:19, 22; 15:16). To be in sanctification requires us to reign in life.
We reign in life in being renewed by the mingled spirit in our mind (12:2b; Eph. 4:23).
We reign in life in being transformed to the image of Christ from glory to glory by the Lord Spirit (Rom. 12:2b; 2 Cor. 3:18).
We reign in life in being conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son through the Spirit’s interceding that all things may work together for the conformation of those who love God (Rom. 8:26-29).
We reign in life in being glorified (v. 30) to be redeemed in our body (v. 23c) to participate in our divine sonship ultimately (v. 23b) through the sealing of the indwelling Spirit (Eph. 4:30).
When we reign in life, we more than conquer the environmental hardships and sufferings by having God being for us, who did not spare His own Son, who gives us freely all things with Him, and who has chosen us and justified us (Rom. 8:31-33); by having Christ who died for us, who was raised, and who is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us (v. 34); by being captivated by the love of Christ and by the love of God in Christ from which we are inseparable (vv. 35-39); and by being faithful to Christ and God unto death (v. 38).
When we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to reign in life, we gain the righteousness of God, which is the subjective Christ (9:18-33; Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30). This righteousness is gained out of faith to faith (Rom. 1:17a) according to His mercy in order to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy (9:18-23).
When we reign in life, we enjoy the riches of God (10:12-15) by calling on the name of the Lord (v. 13), by believing in the Lord’s word (v. 14), and by announcing the glad tidings (v. 15). It is only when we reign in life that we can call on the Lord properly.
We reign in life in living a grafted life (11:17-24; Gal. 2:20a). This is not an exchanged life, with the good life replacing the bad one and the bad one becoming functionless, but this is a grafted life. We are branches of the wild olive tree (Rom. 11:17, 24) that were grafted into Christ, the cultivated olive tree, who is one with Israel (v. 24; Psa. 80:15-17; Matt. 2:15). We stand by faith to partake of the root (which bears us, Rom. 11:18) of fatness of the olive tree (vv. 20, 17). Furthermore, we, as the grafted branches, and Christ, as the cultivated olive tree, live together one mingled life in one mingled living.
Reigning in life is the full experience of the organic salvation of God. God’s complete salvation is through our receiving grace and righteousness, and this complete salvation issues in our reigning in life as the goal of His complete salvation. Reigning in life in chapter 5 is the key to open up the rest of the book. We need to see everything in Romans 6 through 16 in this light. This is altogether a new way to interpret the book of Romans.
When we are reigning in life, we are in all the matters presented in Romans 6 through 16. When we are reigning in life, we are being soaked and saturated with the holy nature of God for sanctification in our disposition, and our mingled spirit spreads into our mind to renew our mind. When we are reigning in life, we can be conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son and glorified through the sealing of the indwelling Spirit throughout our entire life. When we are reigning in life, we more than conquer the environmental hardships and sufferings, even being faithful to Christ and to God unto death. We also gain the righteousness of God, which is the subjective Christ, and we enjoy the riches of God. It is when we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to reign in life that we call on the Lord in a proper way. When we are reigning in life, we live a grafted life with Christ. If we do not reign in life, we cannot participate in these processes, but if we reign in life, we can be in all these things, and we can be constituted Christ’s overcoming bride for His satisfaction, pleasure, and delight.
